BusinessWeek – European finance ministers meeting today in Brussels to discuss hedge fund and private equity regulation may risk a trade war if they stick to a plan to force funds outside the region to comply with European Union rules.
Transatlantic tensions grew last week when EU financial- services commissioner Michel Barnier vowed to defend the bloc’s Proposals after they were criticized by U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner. Geithner said in a letter to Barnier that the proposed rules may discriminate against U.S. funds. The plan would force funds based outside the EU to accept the rules if they attract investors from the 27-nation bloc.
